MOPTA Lesson Plan Format

Standards/Quality Indicators/Skills
Missouri and national standards, quality indicators, and skills addressed by this lesson
- CCSS. RL. 3.1.
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the
text as the basis for the answers.
- CCSS. SL. 3.1.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 3
topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- R.1.H.d.
Question to clarify.

Learning Objectives/Goals and Pacing

The lessons objectives and learning outcomes appropriate for meeting curricular and student
needs; Include the duration (number of minutes) you estimate the lesson will take
Students will monitor comprehension by composing thin and thick questions as they read.
Students will determine the difference between thin (factual) and thick (inferential) questions.
Students will use graphic organizers effectively to collect information that answers questions.
Students will participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative and critical members of whole-and
small-group activities
This activity will take approximately 30-45 minutes per session. There will be a total of 3 sessions.

Students will unknowingly be learning about diverse families through literacy. At the end of the
lesson there will be a whole classroom discussion to discuss the books and how they represented
diverse families. Questions will be discussed to deepen understanding and realizing that all families are
different, but thats what makes that family a family and that is perfect.

Resources and Materials

List of materials used in the planning of and during the instruction of the lesson
paper
pencils
Sticky notes
Text selections/books
IPad
Wifi
AirPlay
Popplet App
T-Chart

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 Technology
Instructional and/or assistive technology incorporated into the lesson to enhance instruction and
student learning

- The students will use one IPad per group of 3 (4 if necessary). The students will use the app, Popplet,
to create their question web. Popplet app is a graphic organizer and web to capture and organize
your thoughts. It will help the students see the connections made throughout their question.
- The students will also use their IPads if they finish early and get to do an extension to the lesson. Once
they have finished investigating their reading material and have asked questions, they still might have
some curiosities. If they do not already have curiosities they need to think about some to look at
online texts and activities that might answer any remaining or new questions.

Assessment (type[s] of assessment used throughout the lesson)

Assessment(s) before, during and after the lesson

Before they go into the main activity of the lesson they will be introduced to thin and thick
questions. The teacher will describe thin questions as ones whose answers can be found in the
text and that can be answered with a few words or short sentences. Thick questions will be
described as ones that readers have to think about more fully since the answers come from ones
head, not only from the text. Thick questions relates to opinions. The class as a whole will be
shown a t-chart that the teacher prepared with the columns names being Thin and Thick. The
teacher will provide the first example of a thin question from a book they had previously read.
(One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia). The students will then give thin questions a try
and after a few, repeat with the thick column. There will then be a read aloud that the students
would listen to and create questions on post it notes and then label them Thick or Thin and stick
them in the section they believe it belongs. The read aloud book will be: All Kinds of Families! By:
Mary Ann Hoberman.
During the main activity, they will be working in groups of 3 (or 4 if needed). They will be focusing
on thin questions first and later thick. With both they will be doing the same activity, which is
reading a book of the groups choice. (To avoid conflict, the teacher will provide an option of 4
different books they can choose from which will be: My Brother Charlie, Tango Makes Three, My
Two Homes, or The Keeping Quilt). This is the time the students will read the book, and then
create their question web on Popplet.
After the students will do a final assessment to analyze what all they learned. The teacher will do
another read aloud with a book that has not been read. The students will be given 10 questions
on a sheet of paper to label if they are thin or thick and will have to explain why.
Lesson Structure and Procedures
Sequence of events of the lesson elements. (The before, during and after the lesson, e.g.,
Engagement/Opening, Procedures, Guided Practice, Conclusion)

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 SESSION 1:
1. The teacher will begin their lesson on thick and thin questioning by letting the students know that all
questions asked have a purpose even if it is small.
2. Introduce what thick and thin mean. Describe thin questions as ones whose answers can be found in the
text and that can be answered with a few words or short sentences. Describe thick questions as ones that
readers have to think about more because they are answers that come from ones head, not only from the text.
Share the idea that thick relates more towards opinions.
3. Display the T-chart that you prepared with the columns labeled Thin and Thick. Write a sample thin question
in that column of the T-chart. Choose the book that was recently read together as a class for the example (One
Crazy Summer). After you shared your example, have the students try to come up with thin questions.
4. Repeat this process with the thick column. If the students are struggling with ideas give them a little push by
mentioning how think questions can be changed into a thick question based on wording.
5. Hang the T-chart on the board near where the teacher will be doing a read aloud with the book All Kinds of
Families to allow the students to reference it.
6. The teacher will then do a read aloud to the students.
7. The students will be told to listen to the story being told and to write down questions that occur to them
throughout the story. Each question will be on a different post it note. They will be given 3 each (meaning they
will have to come up with 3 questions).
8. While reading to the students, make sure to casually pause at a part during reading that would question
thoughts.
9. After the read aloud, give the students 2-3 minutes to look at the questions they came up with. They will need
to write in the corner of the post it note if they think the question is Thin or Thick.
10. After they have come to a conclusion with their 3 questions, they will go up to the T-chart, and stick their post-it
notes in the column they believe it belongs under.
11. Once all questions are posted on the T-chart, go over them as a class and determine if they are all in the correct
placement.
SESSION 2:
1. Place the students into groups of 3 (4 if necessary).
2. Introduce the 4 book options that the groups will be given the opportunity to read. (My Brother Charlie, Tango
Makes Three, My Two Homes, or The Keeping Quilt). Announce that they will be focusing on asking and
answering thin questions.
3. Before reading the book, make sure that the students know and understand they need to come up with one
thin question and write it down on a piece of paper. Remind the students to look back at the T-chart for
examples and the phrases that were used such as I wonder.
4. Students will now start their reading in their group. They can choose if they want to read on their own or as a
group.
5. Once the students have started reading they will need to come up with another question. (One per group)
during their reading.
6. After reading, students should create a final question web that reflects something they have learned from the
text and have turned it into a question. This will go on the Popplet app on their IPad. (1 IPad used per group).
7. Their Popplet question web will include their question in the center, and as information that pertains to the
question comes up, they will add another circle on the app, write it in the circle, and connect it with a line to the
question in the middle.
8. After completing the question web each group will go their work and categorize it in some way (highlight,
separate by sides, colors, etc). They will need to categorize their findings by separating their information that
best answered the question from the ones that did not fully pertain to the question but was still interesting.
9. Have students share with the entire class their popplet that was created will be AirPlayed for everyone to see on
the big screen.
SESSION 3:
1. Return to the same group and to the same book read for thin questions.
2. Have students create a thick question on the same sheet of paper as before. They will do the same thing they
did with the thin question: one question before reading, one during reading and one final question to use as
their Popplet question web.
3. At the conclusion of their reading have students categorize their information that best answers their question
and separate them from the ones that did not relate to the question as much, but was still interesting.
4. Share Popplet with the whole class by AirPlay. 3
5. Classroom discussion afterwards to discuss each book, what was similar/different about the books, what the
theme was, and thoughts on it.
 Instructional Strategies
Teacher approach to helping students achieve the learning objectives and meet their needs
The teachers approach to helping students achieve the learning objective and meet their needs is
used throughout the lesson activities. This lesson takes a while and is a total of 3 sessions. The teacher
starts off by discussing questioning and introduces them to thick and thin questions. The teacher
provides a T-chart and shares one example for each column. Allows the students to try out their thoughts,
and helps motion to a better understanding of thick and thin. The teacher then spends the first session
helping them practice what they will later be doing as a small group. This will be done by doing a whole
class read aloud and having them come up with a few questions on post it notes, and categorize where
they think their questions belong. They will place it on the T-chart and go over as a class if they think they
all were placed into the correct column and discuss if there is controversy. During session two, the teacher
will explain in detail and walk around group to group to make sure everyone is on task and understands
the activity.
Classroom Discussion will occur at the end to discuss the overall theme of the books, the teacher
will make sure the entire class understood the theme, why it is important, and what the purpose of it was.
Learning Activities
Opportunities provided for students to develop knowledge and skills of the learning objectives

Students will be given plenty of time to read their chosen book and think about what their main
question wants to be during both their thin question session and their thick question session. They will
collaborate as a small group to determine what fits best with their chosen question and work together to
determine how they would like to categorize their work on their Popplet. They will get a better
understanding of questions whether they are thick or thin. They will also get more practice using
Popplet allowing their skills to increase for later activities. All of the students will be able to use creativity,
and skills that will better prepare them for the future while working with a small group and later sharing
with their classmates.
Students will be given classroom discussion to discuss the theme of the activity and expand their
knowledge on diverse families and the importance of knowing about it.

Differentiated/Accommodations/Modifications/Increase in Rigor
To help meet the needs of all learners, learning differences, cultural and language differences,
etc. (This includes accomplished/gift learners.
For gifted learners, I will give them the same project as the rest of the class and if they finish early
I will ask them to work on the extension assignment I will provide. Which is for them to
investigate more questions about their topic and use their IPads to look at a few websites to help
answer their unanswered, or added questions.
Any EL students in the classroom will be strategically placed with students who are patient and
work well with them. The ELs will get the opportunity to use an IPad on their own to look up
words, or just to help them with whatever they are struggling with.

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Classroom Management: room arrangements, transitions, material distribution
Strategies consistent with the learning needs of the lesson that also meet student behavior
needs to help keep students on task and actively engaged
- The students all year have dealt with working on IPads and what to do when using them/when its
time to put them away. When the teacher says, Turtle your IPads they all know that there is no
longer time to work with them and they need to be face down. The students know to stay in their
seat and to raise their hand if they have a question. When we share our group work, each table
has a color and the teacher will state what color is able to stand up and share depending on which
table is best behaving at that moment.
- When the students are on the carpet, they have specific spots and know exactly where to sit so
there will be no arguments on students wanting to sit somewhere by someone.

Extensions
Activities for early finishers that extend students understanding of and thinking about the
learning objectives by applying their new knowledge in a different way

For the groups who finish early, they will have the same opportunity as giving to the gifted
Extensions learners (if they finish early). Not many groups will finish early, but if they do they will have
to think
Activities for early about additional
finishers questions
that extend about
students their book, orofquestions
understanding that were
and thinking aboutnotthe
fully
answered to research. They will work individually if
learning objectives by applying their new knowledge in a different waythis occurs and will use their own IPads
to research.

Follow-up to Todays Lesson: (check for understanding: exit ticket, pair share, wonderings)
Quick activity for review or building on todays learning that will deepen student understanding
and interconnect concepts (may be incorporated tomorrow or throughout the unit)

- The follow up would be their final mini assessment/exit slip. The teacher will do a read aloud and
provide the students with a sheet of paper that has 10 questions already on it. Each student will
individually have to decide if the question is thick or thin and explain why on the paper. They will
then turn this into me afterwards.

AdditionaltoInformation
Follow-up Todays Lesson: (check for understanding: exit ticket, pair share, wonderings)
Any area
Quick or lesson
activity component
for review thaton
or building may not have
todays beenthat
learning covered by this format
will deepen studentthat you
understanding
think is vital to include in this lesson
and interconnect concepts (may be incorporated tomorrow or throughout the unit)

- If a group cannot stay focused, they will get a warning, and if they still are off task, they will
have to do the activity on their own. They will be allowed to try again as a group for the next
session and if they get a warning again, they will have to do the next session alone as well.
They all have their own IPads, books, and paper to where they would not have to work as a
group if they cannot behave properly.